Alex stared at Kelvin a little longer after he patted his shoulder and walked away.
His hand slowly lifted to touch the spot which seemed to burn with warmth, his eyes flickered with unclear emotions as he followed behind them.
Memories of those days when he would pat his back to cheer him up whenever he lost a deal rocked his mind.
He exhaled sharply.
"He just said, pull yourself together." He muttered under his breath.
Pull himself together?
He really wanted to, he really hoped he could, but no, the situation wasn't giving him that opportunity.
Not when the two people who gave him a reason to live were on the brink of slipping past his fingers.
He wanted to be strong for Cyndi, for their baby, yet with the odds against him, he dared not imagine what sort of outcome it would be.
Staring at the unconscious body he had been following, just three metres apart.
Every second scraped off a bit of existence from him.
Walking into Cyndi's bedroom to find her in a pool of her own blood had already taken away every courage he had.
And now that he followed behind them as she was being carried into the emergency ward in hurried steps made his heart tighten.
Yet he couldn't stop following them.
Alex was clear on one thing; Cyndi needed him at the moment.
His heart pounded hard against his chest, beads of sweat rolled off his forehead, his fists clenched by his side as he followed behind them muttering a silent prayer.
And the one and only doctor he trusted, who should have said something better, wasn't ready to talk… and certainly not about Cyndi.
At intervals, he glanced at Kelvin, but he would only see that soft smirk on his lips.
He sighed helplessly.
He was already grateful he had even gone to the house like he pleaded… Alex believed Kelvin had done this for one reason…
Their years of friendship and brotherhood.
Right from the moment he discovered he had a thing for her, they had simply turned to foes and no matter how much he tried to reach out to him… Kelvin had kept his boundaries.
And the outcome? Their friendship had gone cold.
"Would we ever be as close as before?" the thought whispered.
Alex shook his head helplessly.
"It seems impossible. Especially for what he thought i did "
He closed his eyes for a moment, letting that thought slide.
Cyndi still needed to be saved. .
At intervals he would glance at the silent Kelvin who had spent his entire walk from the lobby to this side of the hospital on his phone, texting.
Moments later, the emergency ward came into view, the door slid wide open to receive the patient.
Kelvin glanced at the lady on the stretcher, and his lips curled up slightly. "Alex, you stay back. We are heading in now." He said evenly.
Cyndi's fists clenched under the sheets and just before anyone could check, her eyes flickered open, slightly unfocused at first.
"She is awake." One of the nurses announced, her steps faltered as she shot a glance at Kelvin's emotionless face.
"Does she still need to be wheeled in?" Another chimed.
Kelvin nodded.
Like a death sentence over a criminal, Cyndi was wheeled into the emergency ward. Kelvin's voice echoed through the sterilized walls of the ward.
"With such heavy blood loss as hers, the situation shouldn't just be assessed by her waking up."
Cyndi's lips parted to respond, her eyes flickered for any sign of Alex but she only saw the emergency ward shut with a soft thud that vibrated through her heart.
Spelling her doom and maybe the end of the little life in her womb.
And Alex? He had been locked outside. Cyndi could already imagine him pacing the hallway.
His gaze glued to the shut door while he whispered a silent prayer.
"No." She gasped.
She could no longer keep calm, she can't just surrender her life and the life of baby. Her heart raced unsteadily in her chest.
"I want to go home." She rasped.
One of the nurses shook her head. "You can't, your body isn't strong and you might have lost your child."
Cyndi's breath grew heavy and her face twisted with fury. She really wanted to curse out loud.
Their movement came to a stop and she was carefully transferred to the bed.
Cyndi's eyes roamed the room for a moment and settled on a doctor in white scrubs. While Alex seemed to have vanished into the air.
Her thoughts were in turmoil. She needed to turn this table as soon as possible and this doctor should be her only lifeline.
A lifeline—that's what he is.
"I… I…" her voice quivered slightly, her body limp. "Can you send me to the ward? A little medication and I will recuperate...I don't want to lose my baby."
"Ma'am," the doctor in white scrubs stepped forward, a soft smile on his lips and his eyes warm. "You just had a spontaneous miscarriage… you need to be checked for evacuation of the remaining tissues."
Cyndi felt the word ring in her ears like a thunderclap.
"Evacuation?"
No way.
Her face grew pale, her fingers trembled. "Doctor… you see I am afraid of surgical tools and I can't…"
The doctor smiled. "Don't worry, it wouldn't be painful, you would be anaesthetized and before long…"
Cyndi shook her head frantically and shot up from the bed.
No. I don't want to lose my baby.
"I can't lose my baby."
Her hand swiftly grabbed the nurse standing by the bed. She shook her with so much force that the lady felt her head spin.
"Hold her down, she is unstable." The doctor instructed and the nurses stepped forward and pinned her to the bed.
"No, I am not unstable." She shouted but four nurses with unimaginable strength stepped forward and held her to the bed.
"Just let me go."
"I want to go."
"I can't lose my baby."
"If anything goes wrong with my baby, I will sue you for intentional murder."
"You are all quacks."
"Can't you tell when one is having a miscarriage?"
Rather than the silent and frantic instructions of the doctor, it was Cyndi's shout that tore through the ward.
"Your husband had already signed the consent form to have the foetus evacuated." The doctor announced expressionlessly.
Cyndi's lips twitched. "Fuck you, Alex. To sign without my consent." She fumed under her breath.
"Yet I am the mother of the baby. I know my body best. I am not having this surgery."
The doctor smiled and calmly picked up the anaesthesia bottle. A syringe glinted beneath the fluorescent light as he extracted the dosage.
Cyndi's heart lurched with dread, her eyes bloodshot, terror flooded her veins.
Her lips quivering as she tried to speak. "Doctor, please don't…"
This time Kelvin stepped forward now draped in his scrub looking impeccably handsome and cold.
He sighed softly "Cyndi, just be calm, it wouldn't hurt…" his voice was exceptionally calm. "If Sonia was here maybe she would have…"
"Kelvin, please…" She interrupted swiftly, forcing her bitterness down her throat.
At this moment, she could only plead with him. Not that they were close but because he had been a good friend of Alex.
Maybe banking on this relationship might be her way out. She still needed to leave this ward safe and sound.
And then settle this.
But at this moment, with the scalpel in their hands…She shook her head. She really can't afford to offend them.
Cyndi glanced at the doctor who didn't bother to spare Kelvin a glance but only focused on getting on with what he was doing.
"Doctor, don't you think she might need a psychiatrist?" Kelvin smirked.
The doctor glanced at her slightly. His eyes flickered with unknown light.
Then his lips parted. "It is indeed necessary, her mental health isn't stable but that would be after this."
Cyndi's fist clenched tightly.
"I am mental alright." She screamed at the top of her lungs glaring daggers at Kelvin.
Kelvin simply shrugged.
"Hold her down." The male doctor clipped as he stepped beside her, her gaze snapped away from Kelvin as her eyes widened with disbelief.
No!
No!
Cyndi struggled but couldn't move an inch from the spot, tears welled up her eyes. Her voice croaked from shouting.
"Don't do this to me." She pleaded weakly.
With practiced ease the syringe pierced her thigh. Cold liquid rushed into her blood stream,
"My baby," she mumbled.
Her body felt numb, her vision blurry as she slumped into darkness.